All Topics Gaming older than one year ago

In a reaction to outcry from friends and families of fallen soldiers, Medal of Honor developer Danger Close and publisher EA have decided to rename the multiplayer faction in their game from "Taliban" to "Opposing Force." Executive producer Greg Goodrich announced as much on the MOH blog this morning, explaining the alteration by saying, "We are making this change for the men and women serving in the military and for the families of those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice -- this franchise will never willfully disrespect, intentionally or otherwise, your memory and service."

This isn't the first such predicament Medal of Honor has faced in its development -- early last month it was revealed that GameStop stores within Army and Air Force bases wouldn't carry the game, with GameStop's internal memo naming the playable Taliban as its reasoning.

Unfortunately, we're not sure we see a solution here -- considering combatant casualties in any war are "opposing forces," won't considerably more people be offended this way?

In a reaction to outcry from friends and families of fallen soldiers, Medal of Honor developer Danger Close and publisher EA have decided to rename the multiplayer faction in their game from "Taliban" to "Opposing Force." Executive producer Greg Goodrich announced as much on the MOH blog this morning, explaining the alteration by saying, "We are making this change for the men and women serving in the military and for the families of those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice -- this franchise will never willfully disrespect, intentionally or otherwise, your memory and service."

This isn't the first such predicament Medal of Honor has faced in its development -- early last month it was revealed that GameStop stores within Army and Air Force bases wouldn't carry the game, with GameStop's internal memo naming the playable Taliban as its reasoning.

You'd think that getting bitten by something infused with radioactive power would be a bad thing, but everything we're learning from comic books and video games keeps convincing us otherwise. Take this latest trailer from homage-fest Retro City Rampage, in which the player gets chomped on by a familiar-looking radioactive plumber and, instead of succumbing to the extremely poisonous effects of decaying ionized particles, gains some sort of powerful super stomp ability to use on enemies.

We've been on the fence about this whole thing, keeping this Peregrine falcon and this old nuclear power plant keycard around until we were sure it was safe, but this trailer has sealed the deal. We'll go over to the abandoned plant this Saturday, so if you don't see us around here on Monday, just look up.

Responding to pressure from friends and families of fallen soldiers, Electronic Arts today said today they are removing the Taliban as playable characters from their upcoming military shooter Medal of Honor. More »

#xbox360 It looks like Epic's Cliff Bleszinski was more than just three days off when he told Jimmy Fallon on national TV that Gears of War 3 was hitting on April 8. More »

It's begun. As was the case earlier this year, next year's Spring lineup is densely packed with high-profile games. As such, the inevitable migration to the holiday season begins with Microsoft's announcement that Gears of War 3 - one third of its blockbuster trifecta at this year's E3 - will be relocated from its already announced April 5, 2011 release to later in the year. "The teams at Microsoft Game Studios and Epic Games have done great work thus far readying the title for release in the Spring of 2011," a statement released by Microsoft said. "However, we've elected to move the launch of Gears of War 3 until Fall 2011 to make it the marquee title for the holiday season."

The move is ostensibly designed to better position the third installment in the pachydude simulator and, we imagine, pad out Microsoft's holiday 2011 releases. That doesn't leave a lot of room for E3 surprises if Gears 3 is the Xbox's "marquee title" for the 2011 holiday season. No bother, we're still holding out for that Blinx: The Time Sweeper HD update.

Microsoft chooses its next big holiday title.

#nintendo Nintendo's upcoming portable, the Nintendo 3DS, will have firmware updates. According to company president Satoru Iwata, this isn't only to stop piracy. More »

Some people like coffee when they need a pick-me-up, some people like a snack -- heck, some people do sit-ups. But, for a select few, only mortal fear can motivate. So don't judge anybody who may be interested in pre-ordering Gaming Heads' Crabhead figurine on October 4, okay?

#pc Blizzard's Real ID system, whereby users could share an account over several services using their actual name, seemed like a good idea to some, didn't exactly go down too well with many others. More »

Tales from Space: About a Blob joins the slowly-growing list of games taken in by Sony's "Pub Fund" program. Like Burn Zombie Burn and Joe Danger before it, the title will enjoy additional marketing support from Sony in exchange for exclusivity to the PlayStation Network. "Unlike most publishing deals, the SCEA Pub Fund lets us keep ownership of our game. It has provided us with invaluable input and feedback from Sony," developer DrinkBox's Chris Harvey explained.

About a Blob looks to be a good fit for PlayStation fans, combining Katamari Damacy with LocoRoco. You control an alien blob who can eat anything smaller than him, allowing him to grow. Eventually, you'll grow large enough to be able to "eat the world."

Tales from Space is expected to hit early next year.

Hi everyone,
This year’s summer blockbuster Iron Man 2 is now available on the video store! Own Iron Man 2 in standard or high definition, and check out Spotlight on Iron Man 2 for other great Iron Man related titles! Check out favorite comic-book inspired films including the original Iron Man (now on sale), plus Spider-Man, The Hulk, X-Men, The Dark Knight, and many more!

Bargain hunters rejoice! All week long, enjoy hilarious comedies in Deals of the Week ‘Comedy Sale’ where you’ll find the latest steals on movies like Guess Who, World’s Greatest Dad, What Just Happened, The Benchwarmers, and more! Next, catch a series of free TV episodes on the store! Enjoy a free episode of Outsourced, a new NBC sitcom where the Midwest meets the exotic East in a hilarious culture clash, and Law & Order: Los Angeles, the newest addition to the Law & Order brand that fuses classic ripped-from-the-headlines storytelling with the distinctive backdrop of LA, plus many more!

Want more of Cartman, Stan, and the rest of the gang at South Park and can’t wait for the return of South Park season 14? Then be sure to check out South Park: A Very Buttery Collection which features 3 unaired episodes in HD! Last but not least, Let Me In, a drama/horror film about a 12-year-old boy who befriends a vampire child, releases this week in theaters! Celebrate its theatrical release by visiting the video store for an exclusive clip of Let Me In, and don’t forget to check out Let The Right One In—the original film that inspired Let Me In!

New TV shows and movies arrive every week! Here’s a taste of what’s in store…

Just in TV
US Store: Glee: Season 2, No Ordinary Family: Season 1, X-Play: Season 2010, Tosh.0: Season 2, Modern Family: Season 2, Hellcats: Season 1, One Tree Hill: Season 8, 1,000 Ways To Die: Season 3, Bad Girls Club: Season 5, Detroit 1-8-7: Season 1, Flipping Out: Season 4, Raising Hope: Season 1, The Colony: Season 2, Cougar Town: Season 2, Running Wild: Season 1, LA Ink: Season 6, Law & Order: Season 1, and more.

Canada Store: Bleach: Season 11, Canaan: Season 1, Monk: Season 7, Jon & Kate Plus 8: Season 5, Mall Cops: Mall of America: Season 1, Top Chef: Season 5,  Top Chef: Season 6, Neo Angelique: Season 1, Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Season 3, Home Movies: Season 4, Comedy Central Presents: Stand-Up: Season 1, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit: Season 1, and more.

New Release Movies
US Store: Get Him To The Greek (Unrated), Superman/Batman Apocalypse, Legendary, The LXD: The Uprising Begins, Barry Munday, Night of the Sinner, UFC Event Replays | UFC 119: Mir vs. Nogueira 2, Rock Prophecies, Screwball: The Ted Whitfield Story, Australia, Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer, Freakonomics, Art of the Devil 3, Finale, The Seamstress, Late Fee, World Cup Soccer In Africa: Who Really Wins?, and more.

Canada Store: Prince of Persia – The Sands of Time, Get Him To The Greek (Unrated), Children of the Corn, Frozen, Gangster’s Paradise: Jerusalema, Mercy, Soundtrack for a Revolution, Tormented, World Cup Soccer In Africa: Who Really Wins?, Freakonomics, Now Here, Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue, Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure, Stolen, and more!

Before you head to the video store, check out the trailer for Iron Man 2, now available on the US store!

Top TV Downloads
US:

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia | Season 6 – Dennis Gets Divorced Supernatural | Season 6 – Exile on Main St. Sons of Anarchy | Season 3 – Caregiver Family Guy | Season 9 – And Then There Were Fewer Sons of Anarchy | Season 3 – Home Spartacus: Blood and Sand | Season 1 – The Red Serpent The Office | Season 7 – Nepotism Eastbound & Down | Season 1- Chapter 1 House | Season 7 – Now What? The Vampire Diaries | Season 2 – Bad Moon Rising

Canada

Spartacus: Blood and Sand | Season 1 – The Red Serpent WWII in HD | Season 1 – Darkness Falls Spartacus: Blood and Sand | Season 1 – Sacramentum Gladiatorum Sports Illustrated: On Location with 2010 Swimsuit Models Eastbound & Down | Season 1 – Chapter 2 Eastbound & Down | Season 1 – Chapter 1 Elfen Lied | Season 1 – Annihilation The Office | Season 2 – The Dundies Xena: Warrior Princess | Season 1 – Sins of the Past Afro Samurai | Season 1 – Revenge

Top Movie Downloads
US:

Robin Hood (2010) (Unrated) Get Him to the Greek (Unrated) Iron Man 2 Superman/Batman: Apocalypse Killers Stomp The Yard 2: Homecoming Monsters Prince Of Persia – The Sands Of Time Kick-Ass Just Wright

Canada

Get Him to the Greek (Unrated) Robin Hood (2010) (Unrated) Frozen Killers Marmaduke Nitro Circus 7: Country Fried Hot Tub Time Machine (Unrated Version) Just Wright American Pie Presents: The Naked Mile (Unrated) Death at a Funeral

#cosplay Nope. That's not a high resolution screenshot of Mass Effect's Garrus. It's the latest instalment in "Mass Effect Cosplayers Blow Our Socks Off". More »

#wii Over 8 years ago, South Korean fitness guru Jung Da-Yeon was not a fitness guru. She was out of shape. She's now built a fitness empire that has even made waves in Japan. More »

After a poor, not-even-in-the-top-10 opening week for the XBLA version of Sonic Adventure, some worried that Sega might lose its interest in bringing more Dreamcast classics to the platform. However, it seems that contrary to the nature of its blue, pointy protagonist, Sonic Adventure is just a slow starter -- it placed fourth in this week's top Arcade sales. Dead Rising 2: Case Zero held down its spot at the top of the list, while DeathSpank: Thongs of Virtue managed to debut in second.

Halo: Reach managed to wrestle the top spot on the Xbox Live Activity chart from Modern Warfare 2 -- where it will likely remain for a good long time. At least, until Call of Duty: Black Ops makes a run for the throne. Ooooh, this is going to be so exciting! Check out the full Xbox Live weekly rankings after the jump.

Company looking into automatic firmware updates and firmware packaged with games.

#screengrab Master LEGOsmith Fredoichi made this Pikachu for his little girl. Adorable, in a bricky kind of way. More »

#nintendo The Nintendo 3DS has more graphical umpf than the company's previous portables. It's a high-spec machine. More »

Beauty Clock may be the first 3DSWare game announced, Andriasang hypothesizes. Tucked away at Nintendo's conference yesterday was a 3DS version of the app which -- you may have guessed by looking at this image -- features pictures of women holding signs, telling you the time.

The 3DS version of Beauty Clock is likely to be very similar to the already-available PSP version and iPhone version of the app. Downloadable on the Japanese PlayStation Store for 300 yen, Beauty Clock not only tells you the time, but also gives you vital information about the girls holding the signs: birthday, blood type and occupation. We hope "professional digital time sign holder" isn't one of those occupations.

Playing a blinder.

#crime A man in Salt Lake was assaulted and robbed earlier this week while he was playing a "computer game online". Like, literally: his friends could hear over the mic that he was being beaten up, so they rushed to help. More »

#nintendo Nintendo invited members of the Japanese press, Japanese game industry and Japanese financial industry to its Nintendo Conference. Approximately 1,200 business cards were collected. They have gone missing. More »

There are a number of activities you shouldn't perform while operating a motor vehicle, like talking on your cell phone, or eating, or reading Joystiq (seriously, dude, put that smartphone down). The UMass Memorial Medical Center and the Allstate Foundation recently teamed up to create a driving simulator designed to warn high schoolers about a common travel distraction: Sending and receiving text messages.

Not only does the D.R.I.V.E (Distracted Reality an Interactive Virtual Education) program challenge participants with sending a text message while navigating a virtual road, it also puts them in the perspective of the victim of the ensuing crash, and places them in a virtual court to receive penalties recently instated in real-world Massachusetts. Sure, some of the rhetoric from the program's organizers is shmaltzy ("in real life, there is no game over"), but it's certainly a topic worth educating new drivers about.

#akb48 This behind-the-scenes look at the AKB 48 dating simulator shows the girls doing more than simply mugging for the camera. They're throwing themselves at it. More »

It's embarrassing, but true: Every single reviewer tries to think of what they're going to say while they're playing a game. For me, it's like a mental first draft, constantly evolving as I play. "EFF THIS CRAP IT'S TOO HARD" gets struck through when I figure out what I'm doing wrong, and hilarious jokes I come up with about the main character's haircut become more refined as I go along.

As I sat down to write my review for Enslaved though, I realized that my brain had been so captivated, so entranced by the adventures of the brutish loner Monkey, that my mental slate was entirely blank. And that's saying something, because he's got one really stupid haircut.

A rough but worthwhile road to freedom.

#art A bunch of webcomic artists have got together and drawn up some self-portraits. Well, they'd be self-portraits if the artists were Pokémon, instead of humans. More »

#nintendo3ds In Japan, the Nintendo 3DS will cost ¥25,000. That might be high considering how Nintendo has priced its portables in the past. The company explains why. More »

Before all of you start rushing to Play.com to pre-order Vanquish based on the headline above, we should probably point out that the deal applies only to citizens of the United Kingdom. That said, yes, in addition to the Tri-Weapon Pack included with Vanquish pre-orders at Play.com, pre-order customers will also get a free copy of Platinum Games' Bayonetta.

That means, for the same £39.99 ($64) that every other game this holiday costs, Brits can snag two totally bizarro Platinum Games classics. That is, of course, if they can stop playing Just Dance for a few moments.

#wcg The 2010 edition of the World Cyber Games got underway in Los Angeles yesterday, with around 450 gamers from nearly 60 countries competing for a few hundred thousand bucks worth of prize money. More »